Logic Protests Family Separation at Video Music Awards | Sojourners

Logic Protests Family Separation at Video Music Awards

LUCAS JACKSON
2018 MTV Video Music Awards - Show - Radio City Music Hall, New York, U.S., August 20, 2018 - Logic performs "One Day". LUCAS JACKSON

Wearing a T-shirt that read, “F--- THE WALL,” rapper, songwriter, and producer Logic moved the audience of MTV’s Video Music Awards Monday night when he brought hundreds of immigrant leaders and their children onto the stage with him to perform his new song, “One Day.”

Joined by OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder, Logic used his VMA stage time as a powerful protest of the Trump administration’s family separation policy that has removed thousands of children from their parents.

“It is inspiring and powerful to see Logic share the stage with immigrants like me to show the real-life struggles we face,” said Lizbeth Huitzil, DACA recipient and member of Make the Road NY in a news release. “Our brothers and sisters are being detained, put in cages, and separated from their families. With tonight’s performance, we are sending a strong message: families belong together and not in cages.”

The Trump administration’s deadline to reunify families passed over three weeks ago. Recent government figures show that 565 of the children are still being held in federal detention, 24 of them under 5 years old. The administration has deported hundreds of parents, many of whom report being pressured into signing paperwork waiving their right to reunification. 

“Bring us your tired, your poor, and any immigrant who seeks refuge,” Logic was quoted saying during the performance in New York. “Together, we can build not just a better country, but a world that is destined to be united.”

for more info